Territory



No. 609,863. Patented Aug. 30, |898. G. woon.

STAMPJMLL.

ication ledjune 19, 1897.)

(N0 Model.) 3 Sheetsv-Sheet I.-

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\ Patented Aug. 30, |898.4 a. woon. y STAMP MILL.

(Application filed June 19,'1897.)

(No Model.)

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un. 809,863. `:Jammu Aug. so, |898. G. woon. 8

STAMP MILL.

(Appliction led June 19, 1897.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Nudel.)

UNITED STATnsv PATENT Orr-Fics.

i GEORGE WOOD, OF PRESCOTT, ARIZONA TERRITORY.

STAM P-Mlnl.;

SPECIFICATION Application iiled June 19, 1897;

To all whom t may concern.- Be it known that I, GEORGE WOOD., ofPrescott, in the county of Yavapai and Territory of Arizona, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Stamp-Mills; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis speciiication.

This invention relates to'improvements in stamp-mills for comminutingores and .like hard substances, and refers more specifically to thatclass of stamp-mills provided with a single stamp which is connectedwith and is reciprocated by a suitable motor, so that the crushing blowis produced by the momentum of the stamp and the downward pressure ofthe motive agent on the moving part of said motor.

The invention relates to certain improvements in the motor, toanimproved mechan-I ism adapted to be operated from a moving part of thestamp-mill to regulate the action of the motive agent on said motor, andto means for compensating for the wear upon the stamp and die.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafterset forth, and moreparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings illustrating two embodiments of my invention, Figure lis a side ele-` vation, partly broken away, of a stamp-mill constructedin accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section andpartly in elevation, of the same. Fig. 3 is a plan section taken on line3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the manner of mounting theengine upon the stamp-mill frame. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of thestamp-mill, showing a slightly-modified form of valve-actuatingmechanism. Fig. 6 is a detail thereof. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary viewshowing a further modification.

The stamp-mill shown in the drawings consists of the usual bed ormortar-block A, to

which is fastended the mortar B in any preferred or convenient manner.Said mortar is shown as secured tothe mortar-block by means of bolts b,passing through a iange atthe lower end thereof and into said block. Theblock is secured to the oor or a suitable forming part of Letters:Patent N o.' 609,863, dated August 30, 1898.

Serial No.v 641,408. (Nomodel.)

foundation by means of bolts a, passing therethrough and into saidfoundation. The casing B is provided with the usual openings, whichserve as a means of egress for the pulp which has been reduced in saidmill. Said openings are closed against the passage of particles of thesubstance being crushed larger than a determined size by means ofscreens D, which are held inplace by suitable Wedges D. E designates anapron which is so mounted upon the mortar with relation to said openingsof the mortar as to receive the pulp discharged therefrom and serves todeliver the latter from the mill to an amalgamtable or other apparatusfor further treating the same.

Within the mortarB and upon the mortarblockA will be mounted a die. (Notshown.) Said mortar will also be provided with a` stamp (not shown)adapted to have vertical reciprocation therein. To said stamp is secureda stamp-stem G', which is attached to the motor and through whichreciprocation is given to said stamp. Said stamp-mill may, however, beof any common or preferred construction and has not been herein shown indetail. y A,

A designates a hopper through which the ore may be fed to the mortarfrom any convenient source of supply. y

I designates a frame upon which a motor for operatingthe stamp issupported. As hereinshown, said frame consists of three partstwovertical standards I"I',one on each side Aof the mortar, and apseparatearched top portion 12, secured at each end thereof upon the upper endsof the standards I by means of bolts z', passing through suitable iangesin said parts. Said standards I are secured in any suitable manner tothe foundation independently of the mortar-block A.

I3 designates a cross-head secured to the opposite member I of theframe, to which is integrally attached a guide-bearing I4, through whichthe stamp-stem G' passes. Said crosshead is iianged so as to form alargeshallow tray I5 for the purpose of ,catching the drippings from thestuffing-boxes of the cylinder and` steam-chest. Said frame I may,however, be made in one piece, and this would not be objectionable ifthe stamp were to be used at one place only. It is often neces- IOOsary, however, to move said mills from place to place and in mountainouscountries, and it is therefore desirable that the frame loe segregable,as shown.

In the presentinstance the operating-motor consists of a steam-engine J.Said engine J comprises a cylinder J and a piston J 2, to the latter ofwhich the upper end of the stampstem G is rigidly attached and whichforms the piston-rod of the engine as well as the stem of the stamp.Said part will hereinafter be referred to bothas the engine piston-rodand stamp-stem. In the present instance the cylinder is cast integralwith the arched portion of the frame I, as shown more clearly in Fig. 4of the drawings. Said cylinder J is shown as provided in its side wall,adjacent to the `lower end thereof, with a thickened portion which isprovided with an interior recess'j, into which the steam-exhaust pipe J2opens. The cylinder is provided with a steamchest J 2, which is securedto the enlarged lower end of the cylinder, which latter is provided witha steam-supply pipe J7, which leads from any suitable source ofsteam-supply. As herein shown, the wall of the cylinder adjacent to thesteam-chest is thickened .throughout the length thereof and is providedwithin said walls with steam-passages J4 J5, which extend from theopposite ends of the cylinder inwardly and open through said enlargedlower wall of the cylinder into the steam-chest J 5. Said recess j alsoopens into the steam-chest J 2 between the inner ends of the saidpassages J4 and J5; Said passages J 4 and J5 each act alternately assteam inlet and exhaust passages, and the supply of steam therethroughis controlled by means of a suitable slide-valve, which is so formedthat when one of the passages is in communication with the steam-chestthe other passage will be in communication through the recess jwith theexhaust-pipe J 5. As herein shown, the admission of steam through saidpassages or ports is controlled by means of a slide-valve K. In order toalternately connectsaid passages J4 J5 with the said recess and thesteam-chest J 5, the slide-valve K is provided on its face adjacenttothe said openings with a recess 7c', said recess being of such length asto extend from the outer margin of each of the steam-passages J4 J5 tothe opposite margin of the opening of the recess j into the steam-chest.With this construction the steam-passage, which is uncovered by the thesteam-chest J when the piston J2 is at the limit of its inward movement,so that steam from the chest will be free to enter said cylinder throughthe passage J4 to move the piston outwardly, while the other passage J5will be in communication with the exhaustpipe J 5, through which thesteam will exhaust as said piston moves outwardly. Said slidevalve K isprovided with a valve-stem K', which has engagement with an integralapertured lug 7s on said block. Said stem K passes through the lowerwall of the steamchest and through a suitable stuffing-box 7a2 and isoperatively connected with a valveactuating mechanism 'hereinafter to bedescribed and which is shown as actuated from the piston-rod orstamp-stem G'. As shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, said valve-actuatingmechanism is constructed as follows:

L designates a bracket which is mounted upon one of the standards I ofthe frame I and extends inwardly toward the stamp-stem G. Said bracket Lcarries at its inner end a bifurcated lever L', said lever beingpivotally mounted upon the bracket by means of ashortbearing-stud Z. Thesingle arm Z of the lever is directed outwardly toward the standard Zand is operatively connected at its outer end with the valve-stem K bymeans of a connecting-link L2. The opposite or bifurcated end of saidlever constitutes tappet-arms Z2,wl1ich are adapted to have alternateand intermittent engagement with a part of the moving stamp-stem and bymeans of which the lever will be rocked on the stud l at eachreciprocation of the piston and the position of the slide-valveK,operatively connected with said lever, changed accordingly. As hereinshown, the stamp-stem G is provided with an adjustable tappet collar G2,which is shown as secured to said stem by means of set-screws g. Saidcollar G2 is so mounted upon the stem G that when the stem and theconnected piston are'in the lower limit of their movement, as shown inFig. 1|, the collar will engage the adjacent or lower tappet-arm Z2 ofthe lever L' and act to oscillate the outer end of said lever upwardlyand to thereby move the slide-valve K to uncover the passage J4 andallow the steam to pass to the inner side of said piston to move thesame outwardly. It will be notedv that the tappetarms of the lever arearranged to normally stand in an inclined position with relation to theaxis of the stem, so that when one of said arms is moved awayfrom'the'stem by engagement thereof with the tappet-collar G2 theopposite arm will be moved toward the stem and in position to be engagedby said collar in the next reciprocation thereof. When the piston ismoved upwardly, the tappet collar G2, carried by the stem G, will engagethe upper tappet-arm to oscillate the lever and move the slide-valve, soas to uncover the steam-passage J5 and to connect the passage J4 withthe exhaust-passage J 5 in an obvious manner. The parts of thetappetarms engaging the tappet-collar G2 will preferably be lined withhard-steel plates l5 to reduce to a minimum the wear lupon said parts.Said contacting-surfaces will also preferably be arranged at an out- IOOIIO

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ward inclination from the horizontal, and the collar will becorrespondingly shaped to provide a smooth contact between the same. Theform of the collar G2 herein shown is not essential for the purposedescribed. The special form shown, however, has been provided to serveas a tappet-surface and at the same time prevent oil from the cylinderworking down the stem G into the inside of the stampmill. Said collar isfor this purpose provided on its upper surface with an annular grooveG3, the inner side of which is worked out to a feather-edge. Said groovewill be filled with cotton or other absorbent material and will becovered by a circular screen G4, secured to said collar in anyconvenient manner.

The die and stamp of the stamp-mill will be subjected to constant wearin the use of the mill, and the position of the piston within thecylinder, which has a constant relation to said stamp, will becorrespondingly changed. In order to avoid the necessity of resettingthe cylinder as such parts are worn away and the plane of reciprocationof the stamp lowered, said cylinder is made of greater length than theentire travel of the piston. Vhen said die and stamp are of theirmaximum vertical length, the travel of the piston will be between theposition of the piston shown in Fig. l and the outer end wall of thecylinder. As the die and shoe wear away the limits of said travel willgradually move downwardly until it will be exactly reversed. In otherwords, the travel of said piston will occupy the space between the innerend wall of the cylinder and a point below the outer end wall thereofequal to the distance between the piston and the said inner end wall ofthe cylinder, as shown in Fig. l. It will be understood, of course, thatthe position of the tappet-collar G2 wil-l be changed to correspond withthe change of the piston within the cylinder, so that the points ofcutting off and admitting steam to the cylinder will not be changed withrelation to the operation of the die and stamp within the mortar. Asshown in said Fig. l, the length of the cylinder with relation to thetravel of the piston is such as to compensate for one half of the wearof said stamp and die. In order to compenstate for the remaining half ofthe wear between said parts, distance-.blocks I6 are interposed betweenthe standards I and the upper arched portion I2 of the frame. Vith thisconstruction when the coacting surfaces of the die and shoe have worn sothat the travel of the piston is changed to the lower end of thecylinder said blocks I6 will be removed, when the travel of the pistonwill be changed to the upper part of the cylinder, as shown in Fig. l.The tappetcollar G2 will again be adjusted to the chan ged position ofsaid parts. The travel of the piston within the cylinder will again begradually lowered as the stamp and die are worn away; but the amount ofadjustment permitted in the cylinder will be sufficient to allow the dieand stamp to be completely worn away, when a new die and shoe will besubstituted and the parts adjusted as before.

The tappet-surfaces of the lever Il', just described, are hiredimmovably with relation to each other, so that the length of the strokeof the stamp will remain constant and cannot be changed without thesubstitution of a lever of different size.

In Fig. 5 is shown a modiiication of the valve-actuating mechanism inwhich the tappet surfaces or blocks in the actuating-lever are madeadjustable. In said ligure, M designates a three-arm lever correspondingin function to the lever L' of the previously-described igures. Saidlever is pivotally mounted 'upon an inwardly-extending bracket M,secured to the frame I, as in the construction before described. Thetappet-collar G5 is provided with an outwardly-flaring rim g2,the objectof which is to more perfectly insure the catching of the drip from thecylinder. The tappet-arms m of the lever are shown as arranged at rightangles to the outwardlyextending arm m thereof and, as inthepreviously-described construction, normally at a slight inclinationto the axis of the stem G. Said tappet-arms m are provided withadjustable tappet-blocks m2, and said blocks are adjustably secured uponthe arms m by means of set-screws m3, which have engagement with slotsm4 in said arms.` The adjacent faces of said blocks and arms areprovided with interiitting recesses and projec-` tions iu order to forma positive adjustment of said blocks on the arms. The enlargement of therim of said tappet-collar G5 necessitates the shifting of thetappet-lever M away from the stem G, which brings the center line of theconnecting-link M2 out of line with the axis of the valve-stem K. Saidlink is herein shown as operatively connected with the stem by means ofa horizontally-aman ged lever M3, which is pivotally engaged at one endto the frame, has pivotal connection at its opposite end with thevalve-stem, and is engaged between its ends by the connecting-link M2.The oscillation of the tappet-lever M serves through the medium oftheconnecting-link M2 and lever M3 to reciprocate the valve-stem and blockattached thereto in the same manner as described in connection with thepreceding iigures. With the adjustable construction of the tappet-blocksit will be seen that the length of the stroke of the piston and stampthereto attached may be varied as desired. If the tappet-blocks aremoved inwardly upon the arms on, they will act to shorten the stroke ofthe piston by reversing the valve mechanism earlier in the stroke of thepiston, and vice versa. l

In Fig. 7 is shown still another modiiicatio of the tappet arm or leverand means for actuating the same wherein the arrangement heretoforeshown and described is reversed. In said iigu re the stamp-stem G isprovided with two tappet-collars G, similar to the collar G2.

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4 Tedesca' (Shown in Fig. l.) N designates a horizontally-arran ged armor lever, which is pivoted between its ends upon the outer end of abracket M', like that shown in Fig. 5. Said collar is operativelyconnected at its rear ends with the valve-stem K', as described inconnection with Fig. 5, and the forward end thereof is directed towardthe stamp-stem G', in position to be engaged by the tappet-collars G6.Said collars are spaced at such distance apart upon the stamp-stem G' asto engage thelever end at the limit of each reciprocation thereof torock said arm upon its pivot and to thereby actuate the slide-Valve K.The operative connections between said valve-stem K' and tappet-arm N,being similar to the connection shown in Fig. 5, are designated by thesame letters as in said Fig. 5 and need not be further described.

' The steam-chest J 3 is shown in the figures of the drawings as locatedadjacent to the lower end of the cylinder J', the result being that thesteam-passage J4, leading to said lower end, is of less length than theother. This arrangement of the steam-chest and steam-passages is deemedto be advantageous by reason of the fact that the passage between thesteam-chest and the lower end of the cylinder being greatly reduced inlength the steam will act more quickly to raise the stamp than if thepassage were the usual length.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with the reciprocating stem ofa stamp-mill and an engine comprising a cylinder provided with steaminlet and exhaust ports, a piston therein which is connected with saidstamp-stem, and a slidevalve for controlling the admission of steam tosaid cylinder, of a valve-actuating mech- -anism comprising a pivotedlever operatively connected at one end with said valve and formed at itsopposite end with two oppositely-direoted tappet-arms, detachablecontact-plates which have slotted connection with the opposite ends ofsaid arms, and a tappet-collar on said stamp-stem adapted to alternatelyengage said contact-plates of the lever-arms in the reciprocation of thestem.

2. In combination with the reciprocating stem of a stamp-mill and anengine comprising a cylinder provided with steam inlet and exhaustports, a piston therein which is connected with said stamp-stem and aslidevalve for controlling the admission of steam to said cylinder, of avalve-actuating mechanism comprising a pivoted lever operativelyconnected at one end with saidvvalve `and formed at its opposite endadjacent to the stamp-stem with two separated arms, detachablecontact-plates mounted on opposite ends of said arms, interiittingprojections and recesses on the adjacent faces of the plates and arms, aboltv having screw-threaded engagement with each of said plates andhaving slotted connection with the arms and a tappet-collar on saidstamp-stem for alternately engaging said contact-plates of thetappetarms in the reciprocation of the stem.

3. The combination of the reciprocating stem of a stamp-mill, aframecomprising twoV upright extensible standards connected by an upperarched portion, an engine mounted on said arched portion of the framecomprising a cylinder provided with steam inlet and exhaust ports, apiston therein connected with said stamp-stem, a valve for controllingthe passage of steam through said ports and means for varying thevertical length of said standards.

4L. The combination of the reciprocating stem of a stamp-mill, a framecomprising two upright standards, andaseparate arched portion mounted onsaid standards, an engine mounted on said arched portion of the framecomprising a cylinder provided with steam inlet and exhaust ports, apiston therein connected with said stamp-stem and aslide-valve forcontrolling the passage of steam through said ports, and detachabledistance-blocks inserted between the upper ends of said standards andthe arched portion of the frame.

5. In a stamp-mill, the combination of a mortar, a stamp adapted toreciprocate therein and provided with a sta-mp-stem, a supporting-framecomprising two upright standards secured at one side of the mortarindependently of the foundation which supports the mortar andoverhanging at their upper ends said mortar, a steam-engine supportedupon said overhanging portion of the standards and connected with saidstamp-stem, and a cross-piece extending between said standards andformed outside of the same in a wide shallow tray which overhangs saidmortar, said tray being provided centrally with a verticallyextendedguide-bearing through which the stamp-stem passes.

6. In combination with a stamp-stem G' of the collar G2 provided in itsupper surface adjacent the stem with a groove G3 adapted to receive amass of absorbent material and a screen attached to the collar to retainsaid absorbent material in place.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I aiiix -mysignature, in presence of two witnesses, this 12th day of June,

- GEORGE WOOD. lWitnesses:

F. A. FRITH, Jr., J. M. WATTS.

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